Building A Better Mouse, 40th Anniversary Edition

The Story of the Electronic Imagineers Who Designed EPCOT

By: Steve Alcorn, David Green

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Step behind the magic and into the madness of building Disney's most ambitious theme park.

It's 1982, and hundreds of young, idealistic engineers have been recruited to create EPCOT Center — Walt Disney's greatest dream. Over three frantic years, they'll transform 27,000 acres of Central Florida swampland into a $1.2 billion showcase of innovation and imagination.

But between the pixie-dusting and opening day, something happens: impossible deadlines, last-minute redesigns, hydraulic nightmares, and the constant challenge of making the truly impossible actually work. This is the story of those who lived it — told with humor, honesty, and heart.

Inside you'll discover:
• What it was really like to be a Disney Imagineer in the early 1980s
• The frantic rush to opening day and why American Adventure almost didn't make it
• Behind-the-scenes stories of EPCOT's most complex attractions
• The pixie-dusting process that turns engineers into true believers
• Why nearly everyone was laid off after opening day
• Personal accounts from the front lines of themed entertainment history

Co-authored by two Imagineers who were there, Building A Better Mouse is part memoir, part technical history, and entirely entertaining. It's a breathtaking, breezy, E-ticket ride of a book — required reading for Disney enthusiasts, theme park professionals, and anyone fascinated by what happens when ambition meets reality.

"A fascinating glimpse into the creative chaos of building a theme park." — Theme Park Insider

About the Authors: Steve Alcorn later founded Alcorn McBride Inc., whose technology powers attractions in theme parks worldwide. He is a USA Today bestselling author of 27 books and has helped over 100,000 students learn to write through Writing Academy. David Green went on to become president of Visual Terrain, a leading lighting design firm, and holds nine U.S. patents.